


The Plank

by ghostea



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, Monster!Jon, Pirate!Ed, Sea-Creature!Jon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 06:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12315483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostea/pseuds/ghostea
Summary: What happens when you feed your sea monster lover a crewmate.





	The Plank

Edward peered down into the dark, swirling depths of his grave. Drowning wasn’t the way he had particularly wanted to go but running away with pirates to escape your father and then feeding one of your crewmates to a siren didn’t exactly get you the death you’d want. To be fair, he’d only planned on staying with the pirates until they hit the next port, but a fascinating creature had begun tailing the boat and Edward was far too invested in mysteries to leave it well alone.

Memories of flashing oranges and browns, yellows and greens amongst the dark waves of the ocean soothed Edward on a small level. It wasn’t hard to fall in love with a siren after all. Well, maybe, this particular siren was not something Edward had heard of before in folktales. He was grotesque. All coiling tentacles, corpse-gaunt features, long spindly legs of monstrous crabs. He oozed fear, it poured from his mouth full of too many teeth like ink and oil. Edward had named him Jonathan once it was revealed he owned a name only the sea could pronounce. It was a rather mundane name for such an ethereal creature of the deep. Curling tentacles that tore apart human flesh with ease and yet petted curiously at Edward’s own with a gentleness Jonathan’s nightmarish features would not lead you to believe he possessed. Now that Edward was mulling it all over he was not sure Jonathan even was male, the creature didn’t seem fussed either way, noting something under its breath in its natural harsh but soothing ocean language that made Edward feel like sea foam was lapping at the corners of his mind when spoken so quietly.

The sun hung like a heavy golden coin in a poor man's pocket, if it was any other time Edward wouldn’t have really cared that he was about to be forced to plunge himself into the harsh waters of the oceans. Edward had fallen in love with the ocean, well, a part of it, specifically Jonathan. And in Jonathan’s own strange way Edward was sure Jonathan loved him too. But Jonathan only came to him at night when the moon had risen. Edward smiled, it had been one of the happiest moments in his life, trading human stories of the stars for the stories of the deep. The wonder Jonathan had looked upon the stars with had been one of the starting points for the blossoming, addictive pain in Edward’s heart.

Jonathan was strange to him but he supposed he was just as strange to Jonathan. So when he had asked to inspect his form more closely he should have probably been less surprised when Jonathan asked the same. It should have been even less shocking to Edward that Jonathan did not care for what was between his legs like so many did. When his bindings broke from age and use Jonathan brought him some kind of seaweed so tough a knife could not pierce it, but flexible enough that Edward’s breath was not stolen from him. It had come in handy when Edward was snuck up upon by the crewmate that ended up being Jonathan’s meal. It had been nice to be able to spend more time with Jonathan as the siren did not have to hunt for his food that night. 

A sharp jab to his back brought him back to reality. A wave rocked the boat.

The men behind him jeered at him to get going, to jump to his death. Another wave rocked the boat, this time making Edward wobble on his feet. Before he could straighten himself another wave rocked the boat harshly, and another and another, until Edward toppled into the oceans, his breath leaving him in a sudden gasp from the pain of his flesh slapping against the surface of the water. His eyes burned but the fear of shutting them was stronger than the pain, he was floating freely in the water, he did not want something to sneak up on him in the dark. And deep down he hoped that Jonathan would be near enough to save him. And even if Jonathan couldn’t save him he would rather Jonathan be with him in his final moments. Briefly he wondered if Jonathan would eat his corpse, the creature of the sea had seemed utterly perplexed at the idea of burying the dead.

Something large was moving in the water, Edward’s vision was starting to blur as the burning in his lungs began to become unbearable, he could feel the movement ripple against his skin through the vibrations in the water. The sound of the creaking boat above him filled his ears, which was almost peaceful. His lungs were on fire, burning up, shrinking in his chest, his feet kicked feebly in the natural attempt to escape. Something slid behind him, touched him, wrapped around him and twisted his body in the water to face a face that would make most men tear their eyes from their skulls. Jonathan… Edward mentally sighed out his name, the quirk of Jonathan’s tentacles, his way of smiling, made Edward think he had heard his thoughts. Claw like hands cupped his face, a mouth full off too many teeth leaned into his as Edward was held in place.

Edward used the last of his consciousness to press his lips back into the kiss, accepting as something was pushed into his mouth- and then Jonathan moved his head in such a way he was forced to swallow what he had just realised was not a bizarre sort of tongue at all.

 _Sleep, sleep in my arms, I will hold you until you wake._ Edward would have started if he had the ability to do so anymore, but he could hear Jonathan’s crisp human voice curl softly in his mind, easing him into the darkness.

 _And when you wake, you will be new, you will be stronger._ Much to Edward’s dislike he had no idea what Jonathan was going on about, he was dying, Jonathan definitely understood death so what was he talking about? Whatever it was it was soothing, and to have Jonathan cradle him like he was precious was definitely the way he wanted to die. But at the same time it made him want to scratch at fates eyes to give him a few more seconds of life to be with Jonathan. He heard the laughter made of storms and drowned screams brush over his mind, accompanied by a gnarled hand that stroked his cheek tenderly.

 _Always so stubborn, but sleep now, when you wake I will show you, I will kill them all for you, I’ll present their hearts for you, their minds, their lungs, I will fill your ears with their screams and begs for forgiveness._ Jonathan, always the romantic, Edward smiled to himself weakly, sleep sounded really good, and the pain was gone, he was just so tired. Edward wanted to hold Jonathan one last time but the muscles in his arms would no longer obey him. But nonetheless he found himself being maneuvered even closer to Jonathan’s body. Jonathan’s strange flesh was icy cold against his skin, but it was Jonathan and it was perfect. Edward looked up at the creature made of nightmares of sailors and widows and gods and smiled. He closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> THE FIRST OF MANY! No seriously I really love this idea way too much to drop it.


End file.
